Our purpose drives performance

St. Mark's Square, Bromley

We were appointed by Bromley Council to bring life to Bromley South and make it a destination of choice, addressing the urgent need for local amenities and creating a connection with the High Street.

How we engaged

We wanted to create something authentic that worked for every generation – so we spoke to local people to see what that meant. We held regular consultations with community stakeholders to hear their requirements and address their concerns.

We also organised open-air cinema nights in the car park, helped paint and repair the local school and restored the gardens at St Mark’s Church. Over time, we gained people’s trust.

Construction challenges and delays meant it wasn’t always easy. But it has been worth it as our final scheme reflects the area’s hopes and expectations, with a nine-screen cinema, an upper and lower plaza with a hotel, public art, restaurants, much needed homes (including affordable properties) and parking.

Landmark Court, Southwark

Widely considered too complex, this 1.7-acre site lay derelict and unloved for over 25 years. We were appointed by Transport for London as their conditional joint venture partner to create a high-quality, mixed-use development that would stitch this prime location in London’s Zone 1 back together.

How it worked

Following extensive consultation with the local community, councillors, interest groups and key stakeholders, as well as onsite activities, workshops and events, in March 2019 we submitted our plan that respects the area’s rich heritage and culture.

Recreating Landmark Court’s historic lanes and yards, our development will provide much needed homes, offices and retail space, along with a new marketplace, for this close-knit community, whilst protecting and enhancing neighbouring Crossbones Graveyard.

Preston Barracks, Brighton

Derelict for over 20 years, and with a history dating back to 1793, we are working with Brighton & Hove City Council and the University of Brighton to bring the site’s rich and vibrant past into our £200 million Gross Development Value (GDV) scheme.

How history can inform the future

Restoring memories of the past, when Allenwest Brighton electricals used to be the pride of the area, our mixed-use project focuses on bringing jobs and economic prosperity to one of the UK’s most deprived areas – establishing Lewes Road as a thriving academic and economic corridor in Brighton.

Alongside vital university accommodation, homes, amenities and green space, in early 2020 we will launch Plus X, an innovation hub providing much-needed flexible work space and mentoring to accelerate the growth of young start-ups in the Brighton area.

U+I's PPP campaign

While 78% of the general public believe public assets should be put to work for community benefit, around 45% feel negatively about the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to develop publicly owned land.

We believe in the power of these partnerships to deliver lasting value and benefits for both people and places.

Challenging norms

We wanted to restore trust in PPP and drive new industry standards so we undertook extensive research, consultation and a listening programme with the public, private and civic sectors.

With widespread support, including from Minister for Local Government Rishi Sunak MP, we have put our findings and commitments in a paper: PPP – The Reset. We expect this to enhance transparency, hold our PPP projects to account and encourage others to follow our lead.

This led to us being shortlisted for the Irvine Sellar Award for Innovation, for ground-breaking projects that have shaken up an industry.

The importance of great people

Our best work comes when our team have a shared purpose and enjoy what they do. We encourage curiosity and creativity, giving people opportunities to collaborate on ambitious and rewarding projects that transform communities.

How we develop our people

We want to retain and develop our talent, hiring the best people and giving them the training and support to allow them to flourish. Following feedback from our team, we have identified the need for additional training. We therefore began rolling out a new talent programme in April 2019 to upskill and motivate our people in all that they do.

The role of the Board

Our values of imagination, intelligence and audacity are endorsed by the Board as they challenge our business to keep improving.

Our independent Non-executive Director Professor Sadie Morgan, who was appointed in April 2019, will oversee a workforce advisory panel to encourage closer collaboration across our business.

Circus Street, Brighton

Inspired by its heritage as a municipal market, our £130 million GDV scheme seeks to create a productive, sustainable model of city life – one with a real sense of community and social responsibility.

How we think for the long-term

Starting with a single elm tree, planted when we first opened up this long-term derelict 2.4-acre site for events, we hand-picked a further 100 trees.

These trees form part of a public realm within the site, made up of university student accommodation, homes, an office and a new home for South East Dance, which will welcome c.17,000 local people through its doors each year.

Why sustainability is important and the value it creates

Working with local businesses to source the bricks and cement for this BREEAM-excellent development, our final mixed-use creative scheme will provide over 400 new jobs and add more than £200 million of gross value to the local economy over the next ten years.

The Old Vinyl Factory, Hayes

The Old Vinyl Factory, the former EMI headquarters, is a truly special place full of architectural, cultural and industrial history spanning 17 acres.

100 years of history, remastered

We are delivering over 650 homes, c.500,000 sq.ft. of office space, a cinema, health centre, University Technical College, 60,000 sq.ft. of retail and leisure, landscaped streets with over 250,000 sq.ft. of quality public realm and a pioneering Central Research Laboratory providing co-working space and support for innovative local start-ups.

There will be new public artwork in the year ahead too, honouring the site’s rich history, to complement the iconic 5.5 metre tall Nipper the dog statue so closely associated with HMV and 3 metre tall gramophone seating.

Informs our future

Real estate is a platform for innovation. Done well, a building is more than just four walls – it is a place that can inspire, motivate and drive people, promoting happiness, learning and greater productivity.

We consider our work to be a privilege. We seek out the potential in overlooked spaces, collaborating with communities to create a shared vision and use our planning expertise and creative flair in regeneration to activate and breathe new life into places.

From here, talent can be nurtured, communities can thrive and innovation can flourish.

Each project we complete is a chance to deliver against our promises and to reflect, so we can learn from our experiences and keep improving.

Building on the success of Central Research Laboratory at The Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes, in 2020 we will launch a new innovation hub called Plus X at Preston Barracks in Brighton, helping to nurture upcoming talent, inspired by the spaces they work in. This is just the start as we plan to develop this concept further at other major regeneration projects.

There are five things that make us distinctive

How this helped us deliver in FY2019

"Our close relationships enabled us to secure a fourth development opportunity in Ashford. At Newtown Works we will be working in partnership with Quinn Estates to transform a 12-acre brownfield site into a vibrant mixed-use scheme – delivering film and studio floorspace, homes, a hotel and quality public realm."

Mark RichardsonDirector, Delivery, London

How this helped us deliver in FY2019

"Having seen its potential in 2014, we redesigned and extensively refurbished Donnybrook House in Dublin, transforming it into a modern office building. We launched the building in October 2018, providing much-needed high-quality space, along with leisure facilities and retail for companies seeking to grow in this vibrant part of the city. We have now let the gym in the basement and discussions are underway with the creative and technology sectors to let the office space."

Arlene Van BoschDevelopment Director, Dublin

How this helped us deliver in FY2019

"Our work to understand the issues and challenges facing PPP resulted in us making a series of commitments to pioneer change and deliver a best-practice charter for our PPP projects. Our aim is to lead by example and restore trust in PPP, founded on a genuine partnership between developer, public sector and the community. In April 2019 we appointed Stirling prize-winner Professor Sadie Morgan as an independent Non-executive Director to lead on the establishment of a Community Challenge Panel, which will hold us to account on the commitments we made and measure our progress."

Simon HeskethDirector, Regeneration, London

How this helped us deliver in FY2019

"Opening up Mayfield’s arches for events, workshops and consultations throughout the year – and establishing Mayfield & Co, our co-working space for young businesses – has restored industry and creativity to once-abandoned buildings across the site. It has also helped us to form ongoing conversations with local communities. What we have heard has helped to shape a shared vision, creating a plan that will respect and restore the rich heritage, distinctive personality and architectural quirks of the original site. We are also submitting planning in summer 2019 for Manchester’s first purpose-built public park in more than a century, which we are targeting completing in 2021. We secured endorsement for our Strategic Regeneration Framework in May 2018, winning an award for ‘Best Planning Policy Document’ in the process."

James HeatherDevelopment Director, Manchester

How this helped us deliver in FY2019

The Workshop at 8 Albert Embankment is a temporary community and arts space, which has welcomed over 48,000 people through its doors. Alongside the London Fire Brigade pop up museum, The Workshop is home to charities, social and start-up enterprises and artists, all with creativity at their heart and all committed to supporting local children and their families. The space complements our dedicated project website, which allows us to share our ideas and plans and, crucially, to consult extensively with the local community, before we submitted for planning for our mixed-use scheme in March 2019. This collaborative consultation process has meant we have been shortlisted for the ‘Community Engagement in the Planning Process’ category at the 2019 London Planning Awards and the ‘Best Use of Publicly-Owned Land and/or Property in Placemaking’ at the 2019 Planning Awards.

Joanna AxonDevelopment Director, London

Our portfolio in 2019

We completed the refurbishment of Donnybrook House, increasing the net lettable space by 37% and launched this landmark six-level office development in October 2018.

Landmark Court, Southwark

Extensive consultations with local communities and businesses to understand their needs, ahead of submitting our detailed planning application on 8 March 2019.

Circus Street, Brighton

Topping out celebration of the tallest building on site in April 2018 and topping out of The Dance Space in January 2019.

The Hive, Dublin

Construction started in August 2018 to refurbish and extend The Hive building, providing much needed office space to the undersupplied Dublin market. It has already attracted considerable letting interest.

Carrisbrook House, Dublin

Secured planning permission at Carrisbrook House in October 2018, having acquired the building in August 2017 as a neglected property with significant upside potential.

Mayfield, Manchester

Secured planning for the first phase of our £1.1 billion mixed-use regeneration project at Mayfield, Manchester, for a 6.5 acre park, office and parking space.

Creating value for everyone

How we engaged in FY2019

We’ve spent time at Shelter’s offices, listened to presentations to understand what they do and how we can help, shared our events space and had regular catch ups to come up with a fun programme of activities that would motivate and unite both sides. Almost every member of our team, across all levels, has been involved in fundraising.

Case study

We arranged a number of activities from a World Cup sweepstake, cake sales, a quiz attended by >100 friends and partners of U+I, and a shop challenge where different members of the U+I team competed to raise the most funds for Shelter. Including match funding, these efforts raised over £30,000 for Shelter in FY2019.

How we engaged in FY2019

We organised a variety of 1:1 and group site visits during the financial period to help existing and potential investors understand our business, meet a wider group of the U+I team, beyond the Executives, and see for themselves the scale of our projects and why we are so passionate about them.

Case study

In November 2018, a small group – some new to U+I, others who know us well – came to Mayfield in Manchester to see the site for the first time and hear first hand from the team running the project.

How we engaged in FY2019

Creating a new Dance Space for arts charity South East Dance has been integral to our Circus Street scheme in Brighton as their new home will help nurture talent, whilst being a focal point to entertain the local community, with c.17,000 people expected through the doors each year. With this in mind, we have worked closely with South East Dance, to design a space that will suit their needs and support their vision to help make lives better through dance.

Case study

South East Dance and Hofesh Shechter Company will be looking to further roll out their flagship Mind the Gap mentoring programme at The Dance Space, when it opens its doors in early 2020, to support outstanding dance graduates from the south east of England.

How we engaged in FY2019

We continue to support the growth or our collaborative group of like-minded people and companies who make up Mayfield & Co. Launched in 2018, these young businesses are bringing industry back into once abandoned buildings at Mayfield, Manchester as this co-working space encourages sharing ideas, experiences and knowledge, to help springboard their success.

Case study

We’re talking to Mayfield & Co. and visitors to the site to listen to their views on the designs for our Mayfield project so we can create a scheme with the local community at its heart. Latest tenant, Dirt Factory, has built an indoor bike park in one of the disused 25,000 sq.ft. warehouses, using 2,000 tonnes of reclaimed soil to create a family-friendly bike park at Mayfield. The park encourages fitness, wellbeing and fun, whilst creating up to ten full and part time jobs for the local community.